Blog

How To Become Great

How would you like to be referred to as one of the greatest human beings to have ever lived? Sounds amazing doesn’t it? To have people honor your memory for centuries to come. To have movies and books written about you. In my perspective this is the true meaning of leaving a legacy. We don’t have the option to live forever, however we do have the option to be so remarkable while we are here that when we are gone are memory will forever live on in the hearts of millions.

Photo courtesy of bigisthenewsmall.com

Hence I believe that this is what everyone in life should aim to do. To live forever. However in reality not a lot of people achieve this. Instead they become just another human being who lives and dies and is only remembered for a couple generations if that. Unfortunate really.

But you can escape this ending if you choose to. The way to go about leaving a legacy and become a true legend that truly created a ding in the universe is by becoming great. The way you become great in life is by becoming great at your profession.

Everyone who is a legend is known for something. Whether they’re business moguls, musicians, or athletes. For instance people like Warren Buffett, Jay Z, LeBron James will always be remembered well after their last breath as a result of their greatness. Their captivating presence that they displayed to this world shall result in a legacy being formed.

This is ultimately what you should strive to do as well if you choose to become someone extraordinary. The key thing here is you have to absolutely love what it is you are doing. If you do not love what you are doing then it’s going to be quite difficult because as you’re about to see greatness takes patience. A lot of patience. And simply put those who do not love what they do are not going to have enough patience to stick with it. Hence they will give up and fall short of greatness. Therefore you have to REALLY REALLY LOVE whatever you do for a living in order to not let this be your destiny.

Well that was the background, now lets shift our focus to how one can become great. How one can go from being an average human being to an extraordinary one.

How To Become Great

1. Be A Spirit, Not A Human Being

If you watch interviews of others that were around Michael Jackson you will begin to notice some interesting things. Nas a very well known rapper described Michael as being a spirit, not a human being. He was a spirit. He could move people. He wasn’t a man. He was something much greater. Of course this isn’t reality, but that is the effect he had on others. His energy and enthusiasm was infectious.

Photo courtesy of karaoke4free.com

He was fueled with passion. This passion and energy really spread onto those that were around him.

This is the way you need to live. You need to be filled with passion. Move people. Connect with people deeply. Be a spirit, whatever that means to you. It’s very tough to explain. But remember one thing. Don’t be afraid to be different. Don’t focus on fitting in. No one ever becomes great by fitting in and rolling with the punches. Strive to stand out. Be the color in the black and white photo. Be a spirit. Be infectious.

2. Add Value To The World

You have to become a valuable person. You have to make the world a much better place as a result of you having lived here. The way to do this is by adding an insane amount of value to the world. We all have the potential to be great. We all have it within us. You just have to add value. It’s really as simple as that. Look at any great person and you will notice that they were very valuable. That’s is what made them great.

Find your niche in life and add value to the lives of hundreds, thousands, and maybe even millions of people. By doing so you will soon find that you are leaving your mark on the world.

3. It’s All Or Nothing

If you’re going to be doing something, DO IT. Give it your blood, sweat, and tears. If you are going to waste your most valuable resource which is time on something make sure you do it to your full potential. Whatever it is you do. Whether it’s being a college professor or a garbage man. Give it your soul.

The reason why average people do not become great is because they are always half stepping around their profession. They never give it their all. This is the road to mediocrity, not greatness my friend.

Every time you do it you better DO IT.

For instance every single time Michael Jordan stepped foot onto the court he aimed to leave his mark. Like if it was his very last game and this was the performance that others were always going to remember him by. So you need to take on that mentality.

Do it as if this is going to be the last time you are ever going to be doing it and your performance is going to determine how others are going to remember you.

4. Practice

You have to master something if you want to become great. Jordan mastered basketball, Michael Jackson mastered the art of music, and every other single great person on this planet has mastered something.

Pick something you love doing and master it.

Practice. Nonstop practice. Day in and day out. Let your days be filled with you mastering your craft. You may think wow what a dull life. Not really. If you love what it is you are doing it will be anything but dull and as a result of you having mastered your craft the rewards will be superb. Much greater than any average man/woman could ever conceive of.

It’ll feel as if you are granted a whole new life.

Those are the four things that go into greatness.

Things To Remember

A lot of people get discouraged on the route to greatness so there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind if you choose to embark on this journey. Greatness takes patience. It takes a lot of time. It takes time for you to become great. Greatness is ultimately you being referred to as being great by others so it’s all a process. You have to be patient. It’s not going to come overnight. What you are attempting to do is extraordinary. So it’s going to take quite a bit of time.

Another thing to remember is it’s going to take hard work. You’re going to have to bust your ass day in and day out. So what this means is you are going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, and other members of this elite crew did not make it to where they are/were by not making sacrifices. They sacrificed A LOT.

It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it.

Hence be fully prepared for these two cases if you choose to walk the road that ends in greatness.